Beet + Wild Rice Grain Bowls

It has taken me seven days to put fingers to keyboard on this one, and before that, three weeks to slow down for long enough to take photos. Despite being forced to slow down in 2020, life—the world- still feels very chaotic. This makes it hard to write about something as simple as a grain bowl. Where do you begin when there are so many important things happening in the world?

Yet here, on planet Earth—the ground we all stand on- we must still eat. Food is a symbol of its own: a cultural symbol, a mark of a movement, a taste of history, a connection to the ground. When I think of this recipe, my mind goes to the earth. It boasts deep flavors that remind you of where your food came from (nutty wild rice, sweet and earthy beets, buttery feta cheese), and in that way, this meal is grounding.

I grow a small patch of beets in my garden every year. They are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, resilient and hardy. This dish puts beets, such a humble root, on show. Eat it warm on a rainy evening, or cold for a mid-day work lunch.

Beet + Wild Rice Grain Bowls

Published July 30, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

4 beets

2 cups cooked wild rice (for serving cold, allow rice to cool first — for serving warm, rice can be freshly cooked or reheated)

1 cup cucumber, sliced

1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles

1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved or roughly chopped

1/4 cup parsley, minced

For vinaigrette:

Juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Generous pinch of salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

1. Cook beets: Pierce each beet with a knife (this allows steam to escape during cooking). Place beets in a large microwave-safe pyrex with a lid, and add 1 cup of water. Microwave until softened through, about 10-12 minutes. When done, beets will be softened and a fork or knife should easily go through. Allow to beets to cool 5-10 minutes.
2. While beets cool, make the vinaigrette: combine ingredients for vinaigrette in a jar. Secure lid, and shake until well mixed.
3. Dice beets into bite-sized pieces, then assemble bowls: scoop 1/2 cup of rice into each bowl. Divide beets, cucumbers, cheese, walnuts, and olives amongst bowls. Garnish with parsley, and drizzle vinaigrette to taste. Serve hot or cold.

Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

It is rare to find an exciting vegetable in the grocery store in the middle of February. It’s all orange-green tomatoes, rock-hard avocados, and kale. This month, however, I was planning a crunchy root salad already when I came across pink daikon radishes. I paused for a minute, knowing that likely, not everyone that reads this blog will be able to find pink daikon radishes. But I bought them anyways, because their brink color was irresistible. Yes: you can use any sort of radish instead. Regular white daikons. Watermelon radish would be pretty. Easter egg radishes. Red cherry radishes. They will all work, and taste just about the same. I just fell in love with how bright and fresh the pink looked, and how it added little pops of pink to this salad. 

Radishes, like many root vegetables, are a good fall back this time of year when little else is fresh or ripe. And while it’s easy to think of root vegetables as potatoes and yams, this salad proves that root veggies can also make a refreshing, bright, and light salad, too. Serve as a side with pulled pork, brisket, chili, or even a panini. 

Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

Published February 6, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

1/3 cup radish, peeled and julienned (pink daikon radish, daikon radish, watermelon radish, or red radishes)

1/3 cup cucumber, julienned

1 large or 2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned

1 golden beet, peeled and julienned

2 tablespoons minced parsley 

Black pepper to taste

For vinaigrette:

Juice from 1 Meyer lemon 

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 teaspoon honey 

1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard 

Generous pinch of salt 

Directions:

1. Combine all julienned vegetables and parsley in a medium-sized salad bowl.
2. In a jar, combine all ingredients for vinaigrette. Place lid on jar and shake to emulsify.
3. Drizzle vinaigrette over vegetables to taste (you may not need all of the vinaigrette) and toss to coat. Season to taste with pepper.

Winter Salad with Kale, Squash, Apples, & Fennel

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Merry Christmas Eve! Happy Holidays! Happy whenever you find yourself doing today! For me, it's "Happy Another-Excuse-To-Plan-A-Menu Day"! 

If you are looking to build a holiday menu that everyone can enjoy, regardless of dietary preferences, you know my struggle well: what is paleo, vegan, and still filling? Salad is the easy answer. But it's so hard to make salad feel "right" in the middle of winter. Tomatoes? Hard and flavorless. Cucumbers? Chilling. Butterhead lettuce, arugula, even baby spinach--just plain out of place. It's easier to pass by with gratins, mashes, and roasts. And don't get me wrong--I love anything au gratin (especially this cauliflower gruyere gratin!) - but sometimes it's nice to have a light dish on your holiday table, to balance out all of the traditional winter fare.

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That very question brought me to this salad. (Now, before you say, "Salad is NOT filling," hear me out). This salad, with massaged dino kale, is stuffed with wintery goods that will fill you up: roasted delicata squash, toasted pepitas, and fennel, and crispy apples. Avocado for good measure — because what salad isn’t better with avocado? It has crunch, a touch of sweetness, and a savory kick. And it fits right in on a crowded table of wintertime foods. And if you're still not content, I recommend adding some shaved Parmigiano Reggiano. 

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Drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette, this salad breaks away from the heavy dishes we all know so well, with out feeling out of place. It's a piece of fresh in the midst of winter--often a much needed twist. Since this salad is made with hearty vegetables, it can be made several hours ahead of time, making your holiday meal less stressful! Just wait until the last minute to add the dressing. 

What new dish will you be trying this holiday season? How do you make sure everyone is jolly when they take their seat at the holiday table? 

P.S., that delicate looking garnish is a fennel frond — the top "leafy bit of the fennel bulb. Save a tiny bit when you’re chopping up the fennel, and put it on top for good looks. 😎

Winter Salad with Kale, Squash, Apples, & Fennel

Published December 24, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 8   |    Active Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 delicata squash, seeds removed and sliced

1 tablespoon avocado oil

6 cups kale, chopped into bit-sized pieces

Dash salt

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup fennel, sliced thin

1 apple, cut into matchsticks

1/2 cup roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1 avocado, sliced or cubed

Balsamic vinaigrette  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Toss the sliced squash in the avocado oil. Spread it out on a cookie sheet, and place in oven. Bake until golden, soft all the way through, and browning on edges. Remove from oven and set aside. 
2. Assemble salad: Place the chopped kale in a salad bowl, along with a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of salt. Using your hands, rub the olive oil into the leaves until they are bright green. This softens them a bit, making them nicer to eat and easier to digest.
3. Add the fennel and apple to the salad bowl. Top with roasted squash, avocado, and pepitas. Serve with balsamic vinaigrette to taste. Optional: garnish with fennel fronds.